Trade minister plans U.S. visit

South Korea seeks to soothe protesters of U.S. beef imports

Posted: Friday, June 13, 2008

Hyung-jin KimThe Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea's top trade official said Thursday he would travel to the United States to seek restrictions on American beef shipped to his country in a bid to soothe anti-government protesters.

But the organizers of the demonstrations rejected the plan, saying they would continue to protest to demand a complete renegotiation of the agreement to resume imports of U.S. beef. Meanwhile, the top U.S. diplomat in Seoul warned that the uproar could damage relations between the longtime allies.

Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon told reporters he would try to get Washington to approve measures under which the beef industry would agree voluntarily not to ship meat from cattle older than 30 months, which are believed to be more susceptible to mad cow disease. Kim was expected to leave Friday to join a South Korean delegation already in Washington.

Kim said he plans to meet U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab for "additional negotiations to work out substantial, efficient measures ... reflecting our people's concerns over the resumption of U.S. beef imports that have been expressed as continuing massive rallies."

U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow said Thursday he was concerned the public uproar in South Korea might undermine the country's alliance with the United States.

"Some of my Korean friends tell me, 'Don't take this personally; this is partly about U.S. beef but largely about Korean politics,' " Vershbow said in a prepared statement to a Seoul forum provided by his office. "That's fine, but I think we have a responsibility - both in the United States and in Korea - to ensure that our alliance is insulated from domestic politics in either country."

Eighty thousand people turned out for a protest Tuesday on the anniversary of pro-democracy struggles that intensified in the late 1980s and eventually caused the downfall of South Korea's military-backed regime.

Other countries, such as Japan, have restricted imports of older American beef, accepting only meat from cattle younger than 20 months.